You ever handle a blr?Hmmm, agreed, but only to a point
The .45-70, .45-90 (Win 86) and .405 (Win 95) are certainly quantum leaps of power from the 30-30 et al. but they still pale, even with modern loads, compared to even the .416 Rem or .458 Win, not to mention to .458 Lott, and the .45-70, .45-90 (Win 86) and .405 (Win 95) are the most powerful cartridges that Winchester chamber in their various lever actions.
Interestingly, I note that the Browning BLR that is a lever action with rotating bolt head and that is chambered for the .450 Marlin, could clearly handle the .458 Win case head (the .450 Marlin is a shortened .458 Win) and length (the BLR is chambered in .300 Win Mag as well, and .458 Win & .300 Win have the same SAAMI COAL of 3.34"). Yet it is not offered in .458 Win.
I wonder why...
Technical concern or marketing dead end?
This being said, can you kill a Buffalo or Lion with a modern .45-70, .45-90, or .405 Win load from a modern Winchester 86 or 95; or with a .450 Marlin load from a Marlin 1895M or Browning BLR; or with a .460 or .500 S&W load from a Big Horn Armory 89; and why not a .444 Buffalo Bore load with heavy hard cast bullet from a Marlin 444? Absolutely!
Is it a stunt? I do not think so, given the right circumstances and the right shot(s), but there is no escaping the fact that you are on the low edge of what over a century of conventional field experience considers the minimum safe power.
There light and the stright stocks ones to me make recoil a bit worse.
The 358w in the blr kicked worse than the 358 in the 7600 or the m77
It was on par with the 338win mag.
I would guess with out a lot of additional weight a 458w in a blr would be painful at the best dangerous at the worst.
I have had people shot the 358 and not want to tuch it again and the 358 not that bad recoil wise
